On the morning of 18 April, the preparatory meeting for the establishment of the Jiangsu Provincial Society of Traffic Law was successfully held at the School of Law, Southeast University. Attendees included Zhang Jian, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office and Professor at the School of Transportation, Southeast University; Meng Hongzhi, Liu Qichuan, Gu Daxiong, Yu Qingsong, and Li Yuxing, all professors at the School of Law; and Yang Jie, who participated online. The meeting was chaired by Liu Qichuan, Party Secretary of the School of Law.
The meeting discussed key considerations for the preliminary preparatory work of the research society, its relationship with the ‘Jiangsu Province Transportation Industry Policy and Law Research Base’ Transportation Law and Development Research Centre of the school, collaboration with experts from other regions, research directions, and development plans. The research society will focus on building a comprehensive transportation system, striving to accelerate the construction of a transportation powerhouse, conducting research on transportation law enforcement, and providing advice and suggestions for legislation, law enforcement, judicial work, teaching, and research in the transportation industry.
Professor Zhang Jian, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office and Professor at the School of Transportation of Southeast University, introduced the main objectives, planning directions, and specific measures of the transportation powerhouse strategy, pointing out the practical needs and research space in the transportation field. Transportation law involves the formulation and application of legal norms, and it is also necessary to combine knowledge of transportation engineering and urban planning to solve practical problems.
Professor Meng Hongzhi from the Law School pointed out that, in accordance with the charter of the Law Society, we should coordinate and refine the preparatory plan, draw on the experience of other provinces and municipalities in building transportation law-related societies, and leverage the advantages of integrated innovation. In terms of transportation law discipline development, we should organically integrate law and transportation disciplines to better meet the knowledge system requirements for cultivating composite legal talent.
Professor Liu Qichuan, Party Secretary of the Law School, pointed out that the Law School follows the educational philosophy of ‘interdisciplinary, team-based, and practical,’ pursuing cross-disciplinary development through collaboration with strong engineering disciplines such as transportation. This has enabled the Law School to pioneer a new disciplinary field specialising in traffic law among law schools nationwide. In the future, the Law School will leverage its platform advantage as the host institution of the Jiangsu Provincial Law Society's Traffic Law Research Society to advance traffic law discipline development through academic research and talent cultivation.
Associate Professor Gu Daxiong of the Law School pointed out that the relationship between the research society and the Transportation Law and Development Research Centre should be clarified, resources should be integrated, and support from higher-level platforms should be sought. New transportation economies such as autonomous driving and low-altitude transportation have created new demands for transportation law research, providing new directions for the development of the Transportation Law Society. At the same time, attention should be paid to the study of laws such as the Road Traffic Safety Law and the Transportation Law.
Associate Professor Yu Qingsong from the Law School suggested that research should be conducted on traffic management and traffic engineering, with a focus on major domestic transportation developments and traffic safety issues, and with the primary goal of serving transportation development. In terms of textbook development, the team could integrate its previous National Social Science Fund achievements to create a systematic set of traffic law textbooks.
Associate Professor Li Yuxing from the Law School proposed that we should focus on theoretical reflections on practices in transportation, extract unique academic propositions in transportation law, strengthen the scientific nature of transportation law research, and enhance the academic influence of the research society.
Associate Professor Yang Jie from the Law School believes that we should further integrate government, court, and enterprise resources to enhance the influence of the research society's activities, such as paper collection and typical case collection, on practical departments and improve the visibility of the research society.
It is reported that on 14 April, the Jiangsu Provincial Law Society issued the ‘Approval on the Establishment of the Jiangsu Provincial Law Society National Security Law Research Society and Other 8 Research Societies (Centres, Bases),’ approving the establishment of the Jiangsu Provincial Law Society Traffic Law Research Society, with the School of Law at Southeast University as the host institution. The convening of this preparatory meeting marks the official launch of the construction of the Jiangsu Provincial Law Society Traffic Law Research Society, which holds significant implications for the future deepening development of traffic law studies.
(Zheng Xiaojun)